6A boys basketball: Denver East claims 12th title in program history, first since 2014
By Brad Cochi
Photo: Dan Whitaker/CHSAANow
DENVER – The Denver East boys basketball team finally got the job done.
At the Denver Coliseum on Saturday, the Angels won 82-61 over Fossil Ridge to claim the program’s first state title since 2014. In what has already been an historic season, it was an historic victory that launched Angels head coach Rudy Carey into the all-time lead for most basketball state championships won with 10 in his career.
The win also was the Angels program’s 12th state championship, which ties Denver East for the most boys basketball titles all-time with Manual, the same program that Rudy Carey, who already broke the record for most career wins earlier in the season, coached for years before joining the Angels. He won three state titles with the Thunderbolts.
“It’s all about the kids, it’s not about me,” Carey said. “This is a special bunch. They’ve done all the right things off the court, on the court. They’re great students and they’re great people. It’s all about them. It’s not about me.”
More historic milestones for Carey and the Angles program. A spectacular finish for this year’s group, whose season began with two straight losses – the second coming at the hands of Fossil Ridge – and ended with a 26-game win streak.
“We did it,” Angels senior D’Aundre Samuels said. “We went all the way and we finished what we started. After the two losses, we bounced back when everybody doubted us. This is our 26 win streak, so I’m very happy.”
Fourth-seeded Denver East (26-2) led 33-27 at halftime against a No. 3 Fossil Ridge (25-3) squad that finished runner-up in Class 5A last season and was chasing its first state title. The Angels methodically built their lead in the second half and eventually led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter before the final buzzer sounded.
Samuels (21.75 ppg) was spectacular, scoring 13 of his 25 points in the second half to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. Fellow senior Jack Greenwood, who went 5 for 7 from behind the 3-point line, scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the first half to spur the Angels early on.
“Momentum felt in our hands the whole time,” Greenwood said. “With this group of guys, we roll. We roll together and the chemistry is so much there. We just feel like no one can beat us right now.”
Angels senior Austin Mohr (15.6 ppg) scored 10 points for the Denver Prep League champions.
Sabercats senior Nick Randall entered Saturday’s title game averaging over 22 points per game and scored a team-high 26 points for the Sabercats. Colin Hayes scored 11 and Domenic Leone had 10.
